


22. Mad

by rockbrigade



Series: DaBa 30 Theme [9]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 03:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13989828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockbrigade/pseuds/rockbrigade
Summary: Davide's glad to be in the same school as Bane again, but he can feel how things are changing between them... and the smallest misunderstanding could lead to the biggest possible rift between them.(Original characters tag refers to Bane's mom making an appearance!)





	22. Mad

Presently, practice was wrapping up. All the gifted tennis players in the club were beginning to wind down with their marathon of the grounds. Most of his seniors were running way ahead, but that was all part and parcel of being a first year; he raised his pace 'til he was running with his friends from middle school. With Bane-san. His package deal, his… beau. Bow. Like the ribbon. They greeted him, and Bane flashed him one of his trademark grins, the kind that enveloped him in happiness, that delivered him great joy, that sent him crazy… the kind… that he… received… He frowned. 

"You're thinking of somethin' dumb...!" Bane said, lightly punching at Davide's shoulder as they ran. "I can tell by your face." 

Shudoh said something about it being only a month into the school year and it was already a repeat of middle school with Davide around. But he was wrong. High school was so much better. Davide and Bane could walk to school together again, trailing behind the hand-holding couples and making jokes about the spring flower petals on the breeze (this breeze blows, he'd say, and Bane would say, oh you wish, and they'd laugh at each other). He could visit Bane's class at lunch, and watch Bane try to keep a normal conversation with his classmates as Davide ran his fingers along the inner seam of Bane's trousers under the desk. And then there was Davide's now intimate knowledge of every dusty storage closet, toilet stall and decrepit classroom, by way of his increasingly intimate knowledge of Bane's body. 

"Yo, wanna go get something to eat on the way home?" Bane said, his grin showing he wasn't inviting Davide to get food. Davide nodded, playing it cool, but his face burned nonetheless. 

"Sounds fun!" Shudoh said, "you know a new café opened nearby? I hear they sell blue raspberry milkshakes, I've been meaning to try it!" 

"Ah, I'm free too," Icchan said, puffing his breath out of his nose "I like finding out about new restaurants!"

"Okay, sure," Bane said, uncertainly, "But like we may have to leave early," he looked at Davide for support. "We've got something to do after." 

"…Our parents are always making us run errands in circles… pfft!" Bane timed the kick to Davide's ankle well enough that they could both recover and keep running. They weren't far from completing the last lap, now, and the group were beginning to ease up on their pace. Up ahead, the third years were coming to a stop and catching their breath. 

"Ehhh… but you guys were the ones who suggested it in the first place?" Shudoh shot them a dirty look as they crossed the goal line. "Unless, what, you don't want us crashing your bro date or something?" 

"Don't be stupid!" Bane said, with energy. More energy than he should have at the end of a run. They stared at him silently, and Bane waved an irritated hand at them and left for the changing room. 

Bane had composed himself by the time they were walking back to town along the beach (dead musicians, they're busy decomposing!) and nobody mentioned his earlier outburst. Davide caught the apologetic look in Bane's eyes, and patted his shoulder as they walked. He didn't have to shoulder the blame. As the coast curved up ahead, Davide could just distantly see the rocky path to the deserted piece of beach that was their special place, and Bane looked at him to show he saw it too, wanted to make a break for it too, probably, but they kept following the group. Davide's hand kept brushing against Bane's, and Saeki wheeled round in front of them, "…what do you think, Bane?" Bane pulled his hand away with a violent speed but had no answer. 

"Eh? Were you guys holding hands? That's cute," Saeki said, laughing. Hearing this, Icchan and Shudoh turned to look. 

"Fuck off," Bane said, and Davide's shoulders tensed. 

"No, seriously, it is cute," Saeki said, "it just shows how close you are?" He was frowning. "…Sorry, did I offend you?" The air felt weird, then. Bane looked over at the sea, drawing in a breath through his clenched teeth, and Davide's chest hurt. Bane-san was mad. Davide crossed his arms over his chest and gripped at his upper-arms, glancing down at the sand. He didn't want to be looked at right now. 

And Bane said, with effort, "Nah, sorry dude. Just," he shrugged his arms loosely, looking for an excuse, "I've been kinda stressed lately. Stuff on my mind." 

"Yeah, like that assignment, right?" Shudoh said, relaxed enough now to take a casual sip from his drinks can. "When's that due, like, tomorrow? The day after?" 

"Aw, balls!" Bane said, "I left it in my desk." He turned to look in the direction of the school. "I'm gonna have to go get it…" He hesitated for a moment, looking at Davide, but all he managed to say was, "I'll catch up to you," before he dashed off back the way they came. They watched him go, and then Icchan, looking from one to another of the remaining group with a beaming smile, nodded for them to keep walking. 

"He really hasn't been himself recently, though," Saeki said. Davide had been watching his feet sink into the sand with each tread, but he looked up at the sound of Saeki's voice. Saeki scratched at the back of his head, and exchanged puzzled glances with Shudoh. "Did something happen with him recently?" When nobody volunteered an answer, he said, "Davide?" 

Nothing had happened to Bane recently. Last year, Davide had skipped practise to meet Bane in secret. Last year, they found themselves charged and restless in the middle of the night. Last year, Bane started playing his music loudly when they were in his room together, so their voices could not be heard. The sea breeze picked up just then, ruffling through Davide's hair and making him shiver. No, Bane was himself last year. Davide shook his head for Saeki, and also for himself, but his brain repeated: it's because you're here, and it made him feel sick. 

Shudoh talked about their class's workload, and Icchan talked about losing too much sleep, and Saeki hummed at each of them with concern. They were too polite to suggest it might have something to do with Davide, but they fell back to put their arms about him, and he bent his face even lower towards the ground. And behind them came the thudding and the spraying sand of Bane, catching up to them. He was still panting when he said, "What's up?" and nodded towards Davide. 

"Oh Bane, you shouldn't pick on Davide just because you fancy him!" Shudoh said, with a cackle.

"What?" 

"Davide just told us all about it!" Saeki smirked, but Bane's face was twisted with an incredulous anger. He looked at Davide sharply, and Davide opened his mouth, but he was too slow.

"The fuck, so you just tell them? Without talking to me about it?" Saeki and Shudoh's jaws just about fell to the floor. Shudoh laughed nervously, while Icchan gave an interested snort, but Bane didn't notice this. He was looking only at Davide. "Why the fuck would you do that, man? I can't believe this. I can't believe you!" Bane kicked his foot hard into the sand, flicking the grains up into the air between them. 

Davide wanted to be angry. He was angry. When he opened his mouth, there were no words he could defend himself with. He hadn't done anything. The feeling that now, now it was all over between them, now their love and their friendship and everything he'd ever held dear was meaningless, rolled over him and the sickness came back. He couldn't be here, now, and he ran, blindly, until his throat burned and his eyes stung from his tears. When his head cleared, he was in front of Bane's house. He wiped his face, and taking a deep breath, went to the door. 

Bane's mother, holding Bane's brother in her arms, answered the door. Her face fell as she saw him. "Oh, Hikaru, what happened?" she said, and another sob choked itself up Davide's throat as he remembered the answer. She ushered him inside. "Haru isn't with you?" she said, softly, and when Davide couldn't manage to raise his eyes from the floor, she said, "Go ahead and use his room to cool down a bit."

The familiar smell, the warmth of Bane's room felt like a punch in the stomach. He hated the way he felt calmer here, hated it because this was the last time he could be here. He fell onto Bane's bed and grieved for it, for everything there had been there and everything that could have been yet, and everything smelled so much of Bane. They were together on the beach and the sun was shining. They were lying in the warm sand together, Davide's face buried in Bane's neck, and Bane's arms were tightly around him. People were passing by and he knew they were being watched, but he didn't care at all: Bane said something about his knees being itchy and for some reason Davide thought it was really funny. And suddenly he remembered, no, this can't happen now, and was jolted awake. 

He opened his eyes to see Bane, one hand hovering cautiously beside Davide's face. And then he brushed away the curls of hair that had stuck to Davide's face with tears. He didn't look angry any more. Davide shifted himself upwards and sat on the bed, his back leaning against the damp pillow and the headboard, and Bane took this opportunity to sit beside him, back towards Davide. Not facing him. Davide's stomach felt chilly, but there was something in the way Bane knotted and unknotted his fingers, tapping a knuckle against his wrist and clearing his throat to say nothing - something in that made Davide hopeful. 

"I'm… sorry," Bane said, finally. His head was held low. "I know what happened, they were messin' with me. They told me, I just fell for it." He growled at himself and slammed his fist into the wall above the headboard. "I know you did nothin'. The fuck, I'm such a dumbass today." 

Davide chewed at his lip, and then he said, "You're a dumbass everyday, Bane-san." Bane gave a defiant laugh and looked over his shoulder at Davide. He was grinning, though, and the relief it brought made Davide tingle. 

"Yeahhh," Bane said, half-sighing, "takes one to know one." He planted his hand over Davide's, and let his fingers curl around it. "So… they know now." Bane said this like a question, like a teacher presenting a new topic for the class to discuss. Davide nodded vaguely. 

"Were they…?" He said.

"Nah," Bane scowled. "They were cool. Well, I dunno," he corrected himself. "I was more worried about you, but like if they're not cool who gives a fuck, right." He smiled at Davide to prove that he meant it, he wasn't scared, and then he swung round, hitching his legs onto the bed. He put his arm around Davide's shoulder and leaned his head close to Davide's neck. "It'll be fine," he said, ahead of Davide's answer, "I'll mess them up if they've got a problem." 

Davide laughed. "Bear fights often turn grizzly." Bane pinched Davide's face, high on his cheek where the skin was still raw from tears. Davide flinched and wriggled away, turning his body carefully so that they could look at each other. There was a magnetism about Bane. He smiled in a way that made Davide forget to feel anxious, and so close to him, that resolve seemed to strengthen with every second. Davide's face felt so puffy, the dizzying change in his emotions was kinda embarrassing. He was red-faced. But he felt safe now, locked away in Bane's arms, lying together with his precious one, an unbreakable combination. He would treasure this moment, with his head against Bane's chest. 

"I was thinking for a while," Bane said, curling Davide's fringe around his finger idly as he spoke, "I thought we should tell people. Y'know, about us. I dunno, I got it in my head you wouldn't..." he frowned at Davide, and Davide frowned back at him. He shook his head, "anyway, I guess I was jumpy over that. Not knowin' what to do." Davide sighed softly, and hummed with understanding. "But now people know anyway, I think we should just--" 

The stairs creaked in a way that told Davide he should move to a less conspicuous position, but as he flinched, Bane tightened his grip and held him there. And Davide could feel Bane draw in his breath as his mother knocked on the door and entered. She looked first towards the end of the room where the boys were not, and looked surprised to find them lying together, holding each other on the bed. "Did you make up?" was all she said, "are you alright now, Hikaru?" 

Davide nodded awkwardly, sliding his head up and down an inch over Bane's chest. 

"That's good!" she said, "I worry about you two when you fight, but I know deep down you'll make up. You're like brothers!" That word, brothers, weighed down over Bane's defiance. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but didn't. "And you still cuddle up and sleep it off when you've been arguing, like you did when you were five. I hope you never change!" She giggled at them and breezed out of the room, and Davide could feel Bane getting irritated with every angry huff of his chest.


End file.
